Discussion

rude beyond belief at eatery

my college-aged niece and her friend went to eatery at my suggestion for lunch today. i had been wanting to try it, having walked by several times and heard good things, and they were in the vicinity. so, after being seated for fifteen minutes, they caught the attention of a passing busser to say that no one had approached their table yet to order, etc. they watched the bus person talk to a server, and still nobody went to their table! my niece said they received some slightly odd looks. a bit distraught and probably embarrassed, the girls finally got up to leave.

these two girls are visiting new york for the first time from the midwest. the restaurant was not full, and they are wearing cute sundresses - they certainly do not have the appearance of vagabonds, yet that is how they were treated.

this kind of snobbery - or, at the very least, lack of courtesy - and incompetence is intolerable. i will avoid eatery like the plague and tell my friends and acquaintances to do the same.

It's hard to understand how this kind of thing can happen at an otherwise reputable restaurant. There must be more to the story. Maybe something going on behind the scene at the restaurant: absent manager, disgruntled staff, etc. I'd like to know the full story.

I think this is strange too. I have gone for lunch twice so far, being new to the neighborhood and have always been seated by a hostess and then a waiter has come over to take our order. Service is fine, nothing special, but I am not expecting anything other than getting my order right and not being downright rude. My colleagues and I like the lunch specials.

I have been to Eatery twice, once for dinner and once for brunch. Both times I really didn't have a terrible time with service. I agree with G3B...I don't expect more than them getting the order right and not being rude.

However, if they were seated by someone and no one even acknowledged them, then that's a problem. Did they ask to speak to a manager?

I remember reading something on the SHAMELESS RESTAURANTS website about disgruntled servers and difficult managers there.The climate is always pretty harried there and I'd hate to be a server in that environment. I did get a sense of crankiness from the staff there, at least during prime lunch hour.

now that i've calmed down from my initial fury, i acknowledge that the bad service yesterday may perhaps be attributable to incompetence or slowness, rather than something more aggressive like hostility or bad attitude toward out-of-towners. in any case, it is unacceptable in this city of so many good options, and i will not go there.

the girls did not speak to a manager, as they were too embarrassed and puzzled. we will be sending a letter.